Monet Grey's Story

Honestly, Hatch was surprised it had taken her housemates a full two weeks to throw a party. She’d been in desperate need of a release, and she’d been around for a week longer than most of them. But then again, she reminded herself, her housemates seemed to have a slightly better relationship with their families than Hatch did. Classes had only been back a week, and that was probably the most stressful thing most of them wanted to escape.

Hatch had left it until the last minute to leave to go home, and she’d come back as soon as possible. And even then, the few weeks she’d been home had been insufferable. Her oldest brother had announced his engagement, which had just resulted in more boring parties with her parents, where she was expected to drink wine and make polite conversation and wear a dress that made her look like every other businessman’s trophy daughter. Her father’s latest attempt at setting her up with some nice businessman’s son had backfired, even if the conversation had lasted a full ten minutes longer than usual. Her parents had spent the time they weren’t gushing about her brother and how wonderful this was for the family making strained conversation with Hatch about college. Her mother had brought her shopping, which had been an ill-fated attempt at converting Hatch to a more “appropriate” style of dressing. Hatch had, at least, gotten some new shirts out of it.

So when her housemates had suggested a party, Hatch had nearly fainted with relief. She’d gotten the word out among her friends and had even helped decorate a bit. They’d told everyone to bring their own drinks, but still had a ready stash of spirits and mixers, just in case, and had plenty of food to go around. They knew nobody was coming for the food, but also knew that it would be appreciated. Especially by whatever dumb freshmen would probably show up on an empty stomach. It always happened.

But It almost seemed like everybody had forgotten the events that had gone down shortly before Christmas. It seemed to just be another one of those events that was hot on everybody’s lips for a few weeks before fading into legend. Of course, a student being found dead on campus seemed to deserve a slightly more prominent place in everyone’s mind. Especially when it was clear they were murdered. The police were still around, asking questions, and there was a much tighter security presence on campus after dark. But if they hadn’t gotten the answers they needed before Christmas, they more than likely weren’t going to get the answers they wanted now, and the event had turned into a source of gossip.

“I heard he was in trouble with a gang,” one of Hatch’s roommates declared from where she lay on Hatch’s bed. Hatch raised an eyebrow, glancing at Lotta. “Drugs, guns, the whole thing.”
“I heard it was a cult.” Francis appeared from nowhere at Hatch’s door.
“A cult, Francie? Really?” Hatch laughed, leaning in to finish applying her lipstick.
“Yeah. Satanists.”
“Pretty sure his death wasn’t ritualistic enough for it to be a cult,” Lottie remarked.
“He pissed them off and they snapped. James says a senior approached him and tried to talk him into going to some service and then when he refused, the guy got really pissed off. He definitely seemed capable of murder.”
“Or, you know, it was just a mugging,” Hatch remarked, raising an eyebrow and turning around to face them and taking a sip from her Jack and Coke. “Sometimes things are just painfully ordinary and boring.”

Ordinary and boring. Two things Hatch was determined to never be. Her dress was another present from her mother. It had been pointedly laid out for her before one of the many parties she’d been forced to attend, and was one of very few outfits that her mother picked out for her that Hatch actually liked. However, Hatch took comfort in the fact that she was pretty sure her mother wouldn’t have liked her shoes or her makeup, and relished that.

Even though the party was in her own apartment, Hatch waited until it sounded like there were plenty of people there before making her appearance. Looking like she’d been waiting for everyone else would just make her look desperate, so she waltzed out of her bedroom and scanned the party with a raised eyebrow. It seemed that everyone else had been as excited for the party as they had been. She made her way over to the kitchen to pour herself another Jack and Coke (heavy on the whiskey, of course), where she positioned herself to continue scanning the room and either find a familiar face or someone who at least looked interesting.

xx
Monet’s family had never been the wealthiest, so when winter break came around, they had to decide if they wanted to spend the money they had on an airplane ticket, or save it so their funds wouldn’t go low. It had been Monet’s first Christmas away from home, and they would be lying if they said the experience hadn’t made them question their decision to go to university so far from home. It was a little eerie, staying on the nearly empty campas so soon after someone had been murdered, but they took some solace in the fact that they weren’t truly alone, even if it felt like it at times.

Monet was genuinely thrilled when people started coming back towards the end of the break. It had been hard, not being around their family over such a big holiday, so the influx of their friends returning was heartening, to say the least.

After classes had resumed, life seemed to just carry on as usual. It was sometimes a little difficult to catch up with others after a break; everyone was busy trying to get back on schedule, and Monet was no exception. While they hadn’t gone home over the break, they hadn’t spent their time being particularly productive, either. They spent most of their time over break watching Netflix and face timing their little sister. Monet hadn’t even fully realized how much they’d missed her until then.

Monet heard about Hatch’s party, and they really weren’t about to turn down the chance to go. Sometimes they declined (parties were so chock full of hormones and emotions and sometimes they were too much), but they still went to plenty of parties; there really wasn’t a better way to get the people they cared for together.

Monet spent a little extra time trying to find the right sort of outfit: they didn’t tend to fuss over their outfits too much (they were pretty confident and comfortable with themselves, and their clothing was no exception), but they did want to look cute.

Getting to Harmony’s place was easy, finding anyone once they got there was another story. Once again, Monet found themself lost in the hubb of people. This wasn’t unusual; they tended to be shorter than most other people in a room, and bumping into people’s shoulders wasn’t a good way to find their friends. Bumping into Isabella Vayne was probably the worst thing Monet could think of so soon after arriving to a party.

Monet had tried to be friends with Isabella, they really had, but the girl seemed to hate them for things completely out of their control.

Don’t let her get to you, Monet thought to themself, Don’t give her that power. Monet smiled as Isabella spoke to them, and though they knew a backhanded compliment when they heard one, they still cheerily said, “Thank you, this is one of my favorite sweaters.” There was a brief moment when Monet wanted to say something about the fur, but instead they decided it was probably best to just ignore Isabella if they could. They’d decided a while ago that Isabella Vayne just wasn’t worth their time or energy. So, the moment Isabella had found someone new to speak with, Monet quickly turned to walk away. Hopefully, Isabella would be leaving them alone for the remainder of the evening.

Isaac wasn’t totally sure how he’d ended up at this party. Something about someone Ariza knew happened to know someone who knew someone who was throwing a party, and it was bound to be a good one. And hey, Isaac wasn’t about to turn down an opportunity for a good party. Christmas break had been fine, but he’d found life back home almost frustratingly boring and he was aching for something fun. So a party thrown by a bunch of strangers seemed like the perfect opportunity. And besides, it often felt like he ran into the same people, no matter who was throwing the party or where it was at. He’d find someone to talk to, he usually did.

After figuring out who else was going and roping in a few others, he agreed to meet everyone there. He’d had a dance and movement workshop immediately followed by auditions, both of which had ran well over time. Thankfully, he’d anticipated that and had left his outfit out that morning, so when he got back to the dorm, he just had to shower and get changed. Even still, he was late late, barely even fashionably late. As expected, the party was mostly upperclassmen, and was popular enough that he could slip in without anyone noticing. The party didn’t disappoint. Lights were strung strategically to give the room enough light that you could see who you were talking to, while still being suitably atmospheric. The music was good without being ridiculously overplayed. They’d even provided food, which Isaac was perhaps the most excited about given he hadn’t gotten a chance to get anything to eat before leaving.

It was also a much bigger crowd than he had been expecting, and trying to find anyone in the crowd was difficult. He’d just about decided to maybe grab a drink and text Ariza to at least find where he was, when he found himself colliding with a tiny, familiar figure. “Monet!” He yelled in delight, wrapping his arms around them in a hug. “Oh my god it’s been too long! How are you? Your hat is so adorable!” He said. He hadn’t seen them since he’d gotten back to Cascadia and he’d missed their comforting presence. “Babe, I am starving, let’s go grab something to eat!”

xx
Honestly, this was a good party. Good music, the atmosphere was great, everyone around seemed to be enjoying themselves, as far as Monet could tell. They were happy with it all, but they knew they’d likely grow tired of it if they didn’t eventually cross paths with someone they could really engage with. Monet supposed they could have been paying closer attention, because they very quickly found themself running into someone. Shit, they thought, but realized who it was before any sort of apology could slip past their lips. Monet laughed and squeezed Isaac as tightly as they could. Monet grinned when he complimented their hat, but very quickly adopted a more stern expression, “You, sir,” They pointed an accusatory finger in his direction, “Should have popped by when you got back. I missed you entirely too much.” They were just kidding, mostly. Monet had missed Isaac; they’d missed all their friends. A bright smile spread back across their face, “You look great! If you weren’t so much taller than me I might threaten to steal your jacket.”

Isaac said he was hungry, and Monet raised an eyebrow, “You didn’t eat before you came?” There was a gentle sort of concern in their voice: Isaac needed something to eat, or else he would be absolutely miserable when he started drinking. Of course, he probably just hadn’t had the time. The theatre program could be pretty demanding, so it wasn’t a shock. They grabbed onto Isaac’s hand so they wouldn’t get seperated, and set out to where they assumed some food could be found, “How was your break?” They were, of course, curious, but they also just wanted something to talk about. “It was boring as hell here with everyone gone for the holidays.” Monet looked over the food options, but they weren’t really all that hungry. Still, some chips or something never hurt anyone.

Then Monet heard a familiar voice say, “Hey!” And that, combined with the warm hug, brought a grin right to their face.

“Lucy!” Monet practically squealed as they hugged their friend, “Look at you! You look incredible! I love your top.” Then they turned to Carla, and gave an exaggerated gasp, “My god. You look fantastic, too. Very sexy.”

Now, with their friends around, Monet’s heart felt a little fuller. There was something about the certainty of being among the people you care about. Monet was such a social individual, and being here among their friends felt like exactly what they’d needed.

xx
Booker didn’t mind his family, but he preferred to see them in smaller doses. All he heard about was how well his sister was doing in med school, his cousin was getting married, his mother’s best friend’s sister’s kid just had a baby, and anything about him was an afterthought. He was happy for his sister, and his cousin, (and he guessed he was happy enough for his mother’s obscure acquaintance he’d never met), but if he were being honest it was grating. He didn’t need to hear about his sister’s gpa for a tenth time, he had it memorized after the third.

He didn’t talk about school much, though. Certainly not about the student that had been murdered. Booker was a little worried about it, obviously, but he had to hope that it was an isolated event. He didn’t need his parents insisting he try to transfer in the middle of the school year. Booker liked Cascadia; he had friends there, he liked the area, the professors. If things got worse, he’d consider it, but as it was he didn’t want to even really consider leaving.

As it was, he was glad to be back. Having some space from his family, he felt like he could breathe again. He always forgot how smothering his mother could be until he was back in her presence. He’d arrived back on campus really last minute, just a few days before classes started back up, and adjusting back to classes was never the easiest thing to do. Booker wasn’t complaining, though, he really thrived at Cascadia, and he enjoyed most of his classes. Maybe he was a nerd, or maybe all the studying was something to focus on so he didn’t have to face his own issues.

Either way, when Booker heard about the party, he figured it could be good for him. The compounding stresses of everything that had been going on meant that even Booker could use a breather. He didn’t tend to go to parties, and everyone that had ever invited him to one knew that he was more likely to say he needed to study than agree to show up, so the times he did show up people acted like it was an act of God or something. “You came!” or “You made it!” or “Wow, I never thought I’d see you outside the library!” Comedic genius, really.

Booker had never really cared for punctuality at these types of parties- it didn’t matter much, and he wasn’t going at all if he didn’t finish everything he needed to do. But here he was, with an offering of some craft beer he’d brought back from Wisconsin. There were quite a few people at this party. He spotted some he’d rather avoid, others he didn’t mind. He figured he’d start with dropping his drinks off; he was willing to share.

He offered a smile to anyone he knew as he went, and he almost went right up to talk to Darcy when he spotted her (she looked really pretty. Well, she was always pretty, but her dress was very nice.), but she seemed to have made herself part of a small group, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to interrupt. Still, he tried to catch her attention by waving at her. He didn’t want to pull her away from her conversation, but if he were being completely honest, he’d missed her over the break. They hadn’t had an abundance of time to catch up since classes had started back up, and he hoped that they'd have a little time to talk, at least.

Hatch just raised an eyebrow as Isabella mentioned her family's gala. Hatch knew full well that her family didn't tend to be invited to these things. A lot of older Arcane families viewed her bloodline with vague disdain due to the fact that the gift wasn't present in every generation and was only ever present in women. And to be honest, she was totally fine with that. Isabella's family's galas just sounded like her own family events but so much worse.

Isabella's comment about her outfit just made Hatch chuckle. Really, if she was having to resort to comments like that, Hatch had basically already won. Being called Harmony really just concreted that for her. She scanned the room as Isabella walked away, looking for people she hadn't already greeted that she actually wanted to talk to. That was a notoriously small group of people. So when she spotted Lucy and Carla talking to Monet and some guy she only recognised in passing, she decided that was better than nothing.

"Well, look who we have here!" She called as she reached the small group. "Monet, my dear, you look as adorable as ever, that look is just too sweet!" She said. "Carla, you are rocking that look. And Lucia, bringing some sparkle to all of our lives," she said with a grin, and wrapping an arm around her friend's shoulders as she turned to look at the man. After examining him for a minute, she thought she'd seen him hanging out with Monet a few times, but she didn't think she'd ever really crossed paths with him, but his outfit was different enough to what every other guy seemed to be wearing that he intrigued her. "Hatch Cunningham. A pleasure."

Isaac pouted as Monet gave him a stern look, telling him off for not having been around sooner, before laughing as they admitted to missing him and complimenting him on his jacket. "I don't know, you could probably get away with it as a dress," he teased. "You'd rock it, but not as much as you're rocking that cute ass hat," he said. He rolled his eyes as they asked him about not eating. "I totally meant to, I just didn't have time, mom," he teased as they made their way over towards the food. He was impressed by the selection, it was better than the pizza and chips that most parties just offered.

"Oh, I can only imagine. My holidays were... nice. Quiet, really, I kinda missed the chaos of college life," he admitted as he piled some chicken fingers onto his paper plate. [color#7b78b4]"Even if I'm now running between class and workshops and auditions, I wouldn't change it for the world."[/color]

He grinned as Lucia and Carla appeared, both of them looking absolutely fabulous. He returned the hug enthusiastically, before popping a chicken finger in his mouth. However, the presence of a new person almost had Isaac feeling on edge. She gave off an intimidating aura, even if she was a little shorter than him. She greeted the others before turning to assess Isaac, and he had to resist the temptation to shrink back under her gaze. But apparently, she deemed him worth her attention as she nodded and introduced herself as Hatch Cunningham. Hatch was such an unusual name that he was about to ask her about it, but another look at her and he decided against it.

"Isaac Fox. A pleasure to meet you," he said. "Is this your party?" He asked, and she nodded, those steely eyes unreadable. "It's pretty great. The food is really good," he said, and she nodded again in what he presumed was thanks.

"So how was your holidays?" She asked, but Isaac got the impression that the question wasn't particularly directed at him.

xx
Monet couldn’t help but grin as Isaac teased them. They didn’t mean to be pushy and practically parent him, but they didn’t always know how else to express that they cared. They were also projecting their worries about their younger sister onto him. Monet couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty for being so far away from her this year. The Grey family had their first Christmas without their mother the year before, and now Petra had gone through her first holiday season without her only sibling. There had been a lot of firsts for their family in the past few years.

Monet couldn’t be there with their sister, but it was easy to take that worry and guilt and use it to fret over their friends. It would fade quickly, just as it had before. Even in that moment, as Monet greeted friends and complemented outfits, the sense of worry and guilt seemed to melt away. Everyone was having a good time, and so would Monet.

Hatch’s arrival was a welcome one, in Monet’s book. They grinned at the compliment, and quickly fired back with, “You look fantastic, and I feel underdressed!” It was mostly in jest; Monet was comfortable enough in their own skin not to be too bothered by the way other people were dressed at a house party (even if they still couldn’t quite wrap their head around wearing heels to an event like this). They were glad to see that Hatch and Isaac seemed to be getting on well enough, and when Hatch asked about the holidays, Monet shrugged.

“I was here. It was… Nice and calm, mostly. Kind of nice, really.” That was a total lie; Monet had hated being alone. It was too quiet, boring, and slightly depressing. They were due a little excitement.

However, an upset Isabella Vayne was not what Monet had in mind. Silently, Monet said a thankful prayer to no-one-in-particularly that Hatch had been there to hold Bella back. They weren’t sure there were many others at the party that Isabella would have allowed to restrain her. “Really? Come on, Isabella; I know it’s upsetting, but this is a fucking party. Shit happens.” And this is why you don’t wear your fancy new furs to a college party. Monet was fairly sure Isaac wouldn’t dump his drink on someone on purpose, but even if he did, not many people would really blame him for targeting Isabella Vayne.